Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Hecla Mining shares reached a new 12-month high, trading at $10.28, significantly up from the previous close of $9.02, with over 49.5 million shares traded.
• The company reported a 23.8% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $0.08, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.05.
• Hecla Mining recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0038 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.1%, with a low payout ratio of 6.25%.

Shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $10.28 and last traded at $10.12, with a volume of 49555836 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Hecla Mining from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. National Bankshares set a $7.00 price objective on Hecla Mining in a research note on Friday, June 13th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Hecla Mining from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Hecla Mining to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.36.

Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.6%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.36 and a 200 day moving average of $6.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.13 and a beta of 1.29.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.03. Hecla Mining had a return on equity of 5.51% and a net margin of 9.55%.The firm had revenue of $304.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $248.93 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

Hecla Mining Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.0038 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. Hecla Mining's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.25%.

Institutional Trading of Hecla Mining

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HL. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,885,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $77,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960,826 shares during the period. Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the first quarter worth about $41,360,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 40.6% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,052,346 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $102,144,000 after buying an additional 4,928,130 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Hecla Mining in the first quarter worth about $18,410,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hecla Mining by 869.3% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,274,065 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $18,204,000 after buying an additional 2,936,288 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hecla Mining

Hecla Mining Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides precious and base metal properties in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. The company mines for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates, as well as carbon material containing silver and gold for custom smelters, metal traders, and third-party processors; and doré containing silver and gold.